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A pair of George III carved giltwood torchères, circa 1770s, attributed to Mayhew and Ince
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Description
Property from a Private English Collection
A pair of George III carved giltwood torchères, circa 1770s, attributed to Mayhew and Ince
each circular dished top above a rosette-carved frieze, with three carved ram's heads above outswept legs terminating in hoof feet, the tripod legs entwined with a snake, joined by concave fluted stretchers, on reeded ball feet, re-gilt
142.5cm. high, 58cm. wide; 4ft. 8 1/8in., 1ft. 10 7/8in.
Provenance
With M. Harris and Sons, London, circa 1930;
Sotheby's London, The Moller Collection from Thorncombe Park, Surrey, 18th November 1993, lot 95;
Christie's New York, 24th October 2013, lot 720.
Literature
M. Harris and Sons, A Catalogue and Index of Old Furniture and Works of Art, London, n.d. [circa 1930], vol. III, pl. 244, p. 245.
Exhibited
Grosvenor House Antique Dealer's Fair, 1937 (with M. Harris).
Catalogue note
These giltwood torchères are an example of a form that enjoyed considerable popularity at the height of the Neoclassicism of the George III era, that of the tripod-form stand. These derive from Ancient Roman altars and incense burners to the god Apollo – they are found in association with interior schemes by the great designers James ‘Athenian’ Stuart and Robert Adam, though Susan Weber suggests that the origins could ultimately be from the etchings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi.1 The sculptural details, too, are popular Neoclassical motifs drawn from Antiquity: the ram’s heads are an attribute of Bacchus, while the snake recalls the python killed by Apollo at Delphi. Variations on the form and decorative motifs crop up frequently in the period: one pair designed by Robert Adam for Osterley House in 1770 (771770.2) and another in the Lady Lever collection2 both feature ram’s reads, while the Lady Lever example also has a winding snake.
Comparable examples suggest the attribution of these torchères to Mayhew and Ince. A well-documented group of four similar giltwood torchères were created for the 3rd Earl of Kerry, whose lavish furnishings by Mayhew and Ince for his Portland Square residence include “Four Antiche Tripods of Apollo with Goatesheads, & Serpents”.3 This group were later divided into two pairs, of which one was offered in the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung in these Rooms, 7th December 2022, lot 30, while the other pair were last offered at Christie’s London, 22nd May 2014, lot 1224. While the present lot is not a pair that are associated with a documented commission, it is certainly possible that Mayhew and Ince supplied them as a pared-down version of the Earl of Kerry torchères for an as yet unknown patron.
1 Susan Weber, ‘James “Athenian” Stuart and Furniture Design’, James “Athenian” Stuart 1713-1788: The Rediscovery of Antiquity, ed. Susan Weber, New Haven, 2006, p. 457.
2 Percy Macquoid, English Furniture, Tapestry and Needlework of the XVIth-XIXth Centuries, London, 1928, pl. 54.
3 Hugh Roberts, ‘Precise and Exact in the Minutest Things of Taste and Decoration’: The Earl of Kerry’s patronage of Ince & Mayhew’, Furniture History, 2013, p.103
Additional Notices & Disclaimers
Please note that Condition 12 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot.
A pair of George III carved giltwood torchères, circa 1770s, attributed to Mayhew and Ince
each circular dished top above a rosette-carved frieze, with three carved ram's heads above outswept legs terminating in hoof feet, the tripod legs entwined with a snake, joined by concave fluted stretchers, on reeded ball feet, re-gilt
142.5cm. high, 58cm. wide; 4ft. 8 1/8in., 1ft. 10 7/8in.
Provenance
With M. Harris and Sons, London, circa 1930;
Sotheby's London, The Moller Collection from Thorncombe Park, Surrey, 18th November 1993, lot 95;
Christie's New York, 24th October 2013, lot 720.
Literature
M. Harris and Sons, A Catalogue and Index of Old Furniture and Works of Art, London, n.d. [circa 1930], vol. III, pl. 244, p. 245.
Exhibited
Grosvenor House Antique Dealer's Fair, 1937 (with M. Harris).
Catalogue note
These giltwood torchères are an example of a form that enjoyed considerable popularity at the height of the Neoclassicism of the George III era, that of the tripod-form stand. These derive from Ancient Roman altars and incense burners to the god Apollo – they are found in association with interior schemes by the great designers James ‘Athenian’ Stuart and Robert Adam, though Susan Weber suggests that the origins could ultimately be from the etchings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi.1 The sculptural details, too, are popular Neoclassical motifs drawn from Antiquity: the ram’s heads are an attribute of Bacchus, while the snake recalls the python killed by Apollo at Delphi. Variations on the form and decorative motifs crop up frequently in the period: one pair designed by Robert Adam for Osterley House in 1770 (771770.2) and another in the Lady Lever collection2 both feature ram’s reads, while the Lady Lever example also has a winding snake.
Comparable examples suggest the attribution of these torchères to Mayhew and Ince. A well-documented group of four similar giltwood torchères were created for the 3rd Earl of Kerry, whose lavish furnishings by Mayhew and Ince for his Portland Square residence include “Four Antiche Tripods of Apollo with Goatesheads, & Serpents”.3 This group were later divided into two pairs, of which one was offered in the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung in these Rooms, 7th December 2022, lot 30, while the other pair were last offered at Christie’s London, 22nd May 2014, lot 1224. While the present lot is not a pair that are associated with a documented commission, it is certainly possible that Mayhew and Ince supplied them as a pared-down version of the Earl of Kerry torchères for an as yet unknown patron.
1 Susan Weber, ‘James “Athenian” Stuart and Furniture Design’, James “Athenian” Stuart 1713-1788: The Rediscovery of Antiquity, ed. Susan Weber, New Haven, 2006, p. 457.
2 Percy Macquoid, English Furniture, Tapestry and Needlework of the XVIth-XIXth Centuries, London, 1928, pl. 54.
3 Hugh Roberts, ‘Precise and Exact in the Minutest Things of Taste and Decoration’: The Earl of Kerry’s patronage of Ince & Mayhew’, Furniture History, 2013, p.103
Additional Notices & Disclaimers
Please note that Condition 12 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot.
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Property from a Private English Collection
A pair of George III carved giltwood torchères, circa 1770s, attributed to Mayhew and Ince
each circular dished top above a rosette-carved frieze, with three carved ram's heads above outswept legs terminating in hoof feet, the tripod legs entwined with a snake, joined by concave fluted stretchers, on reeded ball feet, re-gilt
142.5cm. high, 58cm. wide; 4ft. 8 1/8in., 1ft. 10 7/8in.
Provenance
With M. Harris and Sons, London, circa 1930;
Sotheby's London, The Moller Collection from Thorncombe Park, Surrey, 18th November 1993, lot 95;
Christie's New York, 24th October 2013, lot 720.
Literature
M. Harris and Sons, A Catalogue and Index of Old Furniture and Works of Art, London, n.d. [circa 1930], vol. III, pl. 244, p. 245.
Exhibited
Grosvenor House Antique Dealer's Fair, 1937 (with M. Harris).
Catalogue note
These giltwood torchères are an example of a form that enjoyed considerable popularity at the height of the Neoclassicism of the George III era, that of the tripod-form stand. These derive from Ancient Roman altars and incense burners to the god Apollo – they are found in association with interior schemes by the great designers James ‘Athenian’ Stuart and Robert Adam, though Susan Weber suggests that the origins could ultimately be from the etchings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi.1 The sculptural details, too, are popular Neoclassical motifs drawn from Antiquity: the ram’s heads are an attribute of Bacchus, while the snake recalls the python killed by Apollo at Delphi. Variations on the form and decorative motifs crop up frequently in the period: one pair designed by Robert Adam for Osterley House in 1770 (771770.2) and another in the Lady Lever collection2 both feature ram’s reads, while the Lady Lever example also has a winding snake.
Comparable examples suggest the attribution of these torchères to Mayhew and Ince. A well-documented group of four similar giltwood torchères were created for the 3rd Earl of Kerry, whose lavish furnishings by Mayhew and Ince for his Portland Square residence include “Four Antiche Tripods of Apollo with Goatesheads, & Serpents”.3 This group were later divided into two pairs, of which one was offered in the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung in these Rooms, 7th December 2022, lot 30, while the other pair were last offered at Christie’s London, 22nd May 2014, lot 1224. While the present lot is not a pair that are associated with a documented commission, it is certainly possible that Mayhew and Ince supplied them as a pared-down version of the Earl of Kerry torchères for an as yet unknown patron.
1 Susan Weber, ‘James “Athenian” Stuart and Furniture Design’, James “Athenian” Stuart 1713-1788: The Rediscovery of Antiquity, ed. Susan Weber, New Haven, 2006, p. 457.
2 Percy Macquoid, English Furniture, Tapestry and Needlework of the XVIth-XIXth Centuries, London, 1928, pl. 54.
3 Hugh Roberts, ‘Precise and Exact in the Minutest Things of Taste and Decoration’: The Earl of Kerry’s patronage of Ince & Mayhew’, Furniture History, 2013, p.103
Additional Notices & Disclaimers
Please note that Condition 12 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot.
A pair of George III carved giltwood torchères, circa 1770s, attributed to Mayhew and Ince
each circular dished top above a rosette-carved frieze, with three carved ram's heads above outswept legs terminating in hoof feet, the tripod legs entwined with a snake, joined by concave fluted stretchers, on reeded ball feet, re-gilt
142.5cm. high, 58cm. wide; 4ft. 8 1/8in., 1ft. 10 7/8in.
Provenance
With M. Harris and Sons, London, circa 1930;
Sotheby's London, The Moller Collection from Thorncombe Park, Surrey, 18th November 1993, lot 95;
Christie's New York, 24th October 2013, lot 720.
Literature
M. Harris and Sons, A Catalogue and Index of Old Furniture and Works of Art, London, n.d. [circa 1930], vol. III, pl. 244, p. 245.
Exhibited
Grosvenor House Antique Dealer's Fair, 1937 (with M. Harris).
Catalogue note
These giltwood torchères are an example of a form that enjoyed considerable popularity at the height of the Neoclassicism of the George III era, that of the tripod-form stand. These derive from Ancient Roman altars and incense burners to the god Apollo – they are found in association with interior schemes by the great designers James ‘Athenian’ Stuart and Robert Adam, though Susan Weber suggests that the origins could ultimately be from the etchings by Giovanni Battista Piranesi.1 The sculptural details, too, are popular Neoclassical motifs drawn from Antiquity: the ram’s heads are an attribute of Bacchus, while the snake recalls the python killed by Apollo at Delphi. Variations on the form and decorative motifs crop up frequently in the period: one pair designed by Robert Adam for Osterley House in 1770 (771770.2) and another in the Lady Lever collection2 both feature ram’s reads, while the Lady Lever example also has a winding snake.
Comparable examples suggest the attribution of these torchères to Mayhew and Ince. A well-documented group of four similar giltwood torchères were created for the 3rd Earl of Kerry, whose lavish furnishings by Mayhew and Ince for his Portland Square residence include “Four Antiche Tripods of Apollo with Goatesheads, & Serpents”.3 This group were later divided into two pairs, of which one was offered in the collection of Sir Joseph Hotung in these Rooms, 7th December 2022, lot 30, while the other pair were last offered at Christie’s London, 22nd May 2014, lot 1224. While the present lot is not a pair that are associated with a documented commission, it is certainly possible that Mayhew and Ince supplied them as a pared-down version of the Earl of Kerry torchères for an as yet unknown patron.
1 Susan Weber, ‘James “Athenian” Stuart and Furniture Design’, James “Athenian” Stuart 1713-1788: The Rediscovery of Antiquity, ed. Susan Weber, New Haven, 2006, p. 457.
2 Percy Macquoid, English Furniture, Tapestry and Needlework of the XVIth-XIXth Centuries, London, 1928, pl. 54.
3 Hugh Roberts, ‘Precise and Exact in the Minutest Things of Taste and Decoration’: The Earl of Kerry’s patronage of Ince & Mayhew’, Furniture History, 2013, p.103
Additional Notices & Disclaimers
Please note that Condition 12 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot.
Classic Design: Furniture, Clocks, Silver & Ceramics
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W1A 2AA
United Kingdom
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